The question of “Japaneseness” and the creation of the “greater oriental design” for crafts of the Japanese Empire

Since the 19th century, crafts for Japan have been as important for trade and the economy as they have been for national and cultural identity. The discourse of “Japaneseness” has been central to the national and public debate in the craft world. As the Japanese empire expanded into North East China in the 1930s, Japan became interested in the cultures of greater China, including Taiwan. Japan’s continuous obsession with the idea of the “Japaneseness” in craft products was complicated by its effort to redefine itself in terms of its “Orientalness.” This involved the location of its identity within the three-way positioning of Occident-Japan- Orient rather than the simple binary position of Japan versus the Occident. This paper firstly examines how Japanese craft and design experts confronted these multiple and different shades of the Orient and constructed the notion of “Japaneseness” as part of the Orient in the design discourse. Secondly, it will investigate the Japan centric hybrid design concept of “Greater Oriental Design,” articulated by Japan as the leading power and authority of crafts in Asia. Finally, this paper will explore how this design discourse and these concepts were creatively interpreted in actual design terms and in experimentation, as well as the resulting implications for Japanese design history.

As an invited speaker, Yuko Kikuchi presented a version of this chapter as a paper at the 2010 International Conference on Taiwan Studies.

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